Monday, October 12, 2009

I Love You Crazy Lady- My friend Gina

In 2007 I met Gina at Decoy’s in Hopkins. She was there to see her brother’s band. I introduced myself to her since she had noticed I was speaking to her brother and sister in-law earlier. Over drinks she and I talked up a storm. Talked about her marriages and my sad dating life, her kids, her family, my family and even though there was a large age difference we seemed to have a lot in common.

I saw her again at the same venue several months later and it seemed as if no time had passed between us. We continued to talk and update each other on how our lives were progressing and anything new going on. Then she said something to me that I’d never forget. She said that it was like “we’d known each other forever.” it was true. No matter what happened I knew I could call her and talk to her, she always laid it out for me no matter what. She was also a huge crack up. She’d say things like, “I can see you in a white fur coat, walking down the street with one of those Afghans (hounds)”. That would make me laugh hysterically, for she knew that was so far out of left field from who I really am. She would tell me stories about her family and how she introduced her brother to the guitar. She talked profusely about her daughter and her grandchild, how she was such a proud grandma.

She told me once when we were out that she had a lump on her leg that she was sort of concerned about. She showed me, indicating that it didn’t really bother her nor did it seem to be getting bigger so she wasn’t planning on going to the Dr. I asked some questions, like how long had it been there, was it ever painful.. She said it’d been there for a few months and no, there wasn’t any pain, or soreness, that she just thought it was odd. I told her to go in and have it looked at, just in case, for it could be cancer or something… Well, she went in and sure enough it was cancer.

Her brother called me to tell the news and gave me her hospital number to contact her while she was going through chemo/radiation. I spent the week calling her to try to get 10 mins to see how she was doing, prognosis etc. The most I got was 5 mins to briefly speak to her before her Dr. came in to check on her. Most of the time she was either resting or going through treatment.

Once she was finished with her first bout of chemo she felt able enough to come out to the Lake Harriet bandshell to see her brother play. I spent time with her then and met her two sister’s whom I spoken to over the phone but never met in person. That would be the last time I’d see her.

Her brother called me a month or two after to tell me that more cancer was found and she was starting another bout of treatment. The treatment didn’t apparently take and the cancer started to spread. I tried to call her again but she was resting and trying to get better, understandably.

I received a call when I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago from her brother indicating that the Dr. didn’t give her much time and they were moving her from her apartment into her daughter Jenny’s place to be looked after. “Call her”, is what her he told me, so I did that day. I got her on phone for only 5 mins before her grandbaby started crying. She wanted me to call her back later and I agreed, this was to be the last thing I said… “ok, I will call you later, love you Crazy Lady”.

Her brother called me last week to tell me that she was rapidly going downhill, that if I wanted to see her it needed to be quickly, that the plan was to move her to a hospice… I didn’t get the opportunity for my friend Gina passed away at 11:22p on Sunday, October, 11th…

I will miss her greatly. She was of the few people that never judged me, and accepted me completely for who I was, she was my close friend and soul sister. I am forever grateful that I was able to be a part of her life no matter how small a part. I’m grateful that I met her brother, allowing me the opportunity to meet this great lady that became my friend. I only hope now that she’s with the good Lord, that she will be one of the people that will lead me through the Pearly Gates when I pass and that her father was there awaiting her and they were able to walk through together in comfort.